Wednesday, April 29, 2009

It’s name is Leptin (derived from the Greek word leptos, meaning “thin”), and it’s without a doubt the most important hormone you probably never heard of.

You see, leptin was only first discovered just over 10 years ago, and as far as weight loss is concerned, that’s extremely recent.

Leptin’s function? To communicate your nutritional status to your body and brain.Leptin levels are mediated by two things. One is your level of body fat. All else being equal, people with higher levels of body fat will have higher leptin levels than those with lower levels of body fat and vice versa.

Because leptin is secreted by fat cells, it makes sense that under normal conditions there is a direct correlation between leptin levels and the amount of fat you are carrying.

Unfortunately, when you’re attempting to lose fat and begin to restrict calories, conditions are anything but “normal” and the body responds accordingly by lowering leptin levels.

This is because the second mediator of blood leptin levels is your calorie intake. Lower your calorie intake and leptin will fall, independent of body fat.

So, yes, you can be overweight and still suffer from low leptin levels – just go on a diet.

So what happens when leptin levels fall and why the heck does it matter?

Again, under normal conditions leptin levels are normal and the brain gets the signal loud and clear that nutrition intake is adequate. Metabolism is high and the internal environment of the body is one very conducive to fat burning.

Until you start dieting.

Go on a diet and leptin levels quickly plummet (by 50% or more after only one week), sending a signal to the body that you’re semi-starved and not consuming enough calories.

This puts the breaks on metabolism and creates a hormonal environment extremely conducive to fat storage. Thyroid hormones (hormones extremely important to metabolism) respond by taking a dive and the abdominal fat-storing stress hormone cortisol skyrockets measurably.

HELLO belly fat.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the appetite stimulating hormones ghrelin, neuropeptide-Y, and anandamide all hop on board to make your life even more miserable.

You don’t have to remember any of those names, just remember that when leptin drops, you get seriously hungry.

Despite having a pretty good reason for its reaction, it’s pretty ironic that our bodies are primed for fat loss at every other time except when we are trying to burn fat.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could maintain high leptin levels and a body primed for fat burning while dieting? It would seemingly solve all of our problems.

But in order to do this, we’d have to somehow keep leptin levels high as we attempt to lose those extra pounds.

“HOW ABOUT “SUPPLEMENTING” WITH LEPTIN?”

A couple of problems here: First, leptin is a protein based hormone, which means that it can not be taken orally (otherwise, it would simply be digested). So that rules out a leptin pill.

This leaves the method of “supplemental” leptin administration to injection. And leptin injections DO indeed work, reversing the metabolic adaptations to dieting and “starvation” even while continuing to restrict calories.

“Well, that’s nice and all, but I’m human.” Point taken; research with rodents doesn’t always correlate to similar findings in humans, however…

In 1999, Heymsfield et al. performed a double-blind placebo controlled study analyzing weight loss over a 24-week period in 73 obese humans. Subjects either injected daily with leptin or a placebo (i.e. bogus alternative). At the end of the 24-week period, the leptin group lost significantly more weight than the placebo and a higher percentage of fat vs. muscle.

In 2002, Rosenbaum et al. administered low-dose leptin to subjects (male and female) who had dieted to a 10% decrease in body weight. During the diet period, thyroid hormone levels, 24-hr energy expenditure, and other metabolic markers substantially decreased. The result of the leptin replacement therapy?

“All of these endocrine changes were reversed…”Thyroid output and daily calorie burn increased back to pre-diet levels.

In 2003, Fogteloo et al. showed that leptin injections “tended to reduce the decline of energy expenditure associated with energy restriction, whereas the tendency of energy intake to increase back to baseline levels in placebo-treated subjects was largely prevented in subjects treated with leptin.”

Yeah, that’s a mouthful. Let me put in simple terms: not only did the leptin group experience less of a decline in metabolism, but they were also less hungry, allowing them to more easily stick to the prescribed diet.

In 2004, Welt et al. reported that leptin given to a group of women with thyroid disorder immediately raised circulating concentrations of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4.

In 2005, Rosenbaum and company were at it again, again showing that energy expenditure and circulating concentrations of T3 and T4 all returned to pre-weight-loss levels with regular leptin injections.

Daily leptin injections are far too expensive, costing thousands and thousands of dollars per week. So, we can pretty much forget about supplemental leptin as a solution (which is probably moot anyway considering that not too many people are going to voluntarily plunge a needle into their skin daily).

A REAL Solution

Now that we know that leptin injections aren’t going to save us, let’s talk about the possibility of manipulating your body’s natural leptin production.

And I’ve got good news – this can indeed be done, and without involving needles or thousands of dollars. In fact, we’ll swap the injections and mounds of cash out for two things I can guarantee you’re absolutely going to love: more calories and more carbs.

We know that leptin levels decrease by about 50% after only one week of dieting, but fortunately, it doesn’t take nearly that long for leptin to bump back up with a substantial increase in caloric intake.

By strategically cheating with high calorie foods (and yes, even stuff like pizza, ice cream, wings, cookies, burgers, fries, etc), you can give leptin and metabolism a major boost mid-diet which sets you up for plenty of subsequent fat loss when you resume your reduced calorie eating regimen.

This means greater net fat loss week after week, and ultimately, a much more realistic, maintainable way to bring you to the body you truly want and deserve.

So what’s so special about carbs?

Well, leptin, carbohydrate and insulin have been shown to have very strong ties.

Calories alone don’t get the job done, as research shows that overfeeding on protein and fat has little effect on leptin.

In order to get a strong leptin response from overfeeding, there needs to be plenty of carbs in the mix. In fact, the relationship is SO strong that research conducted by Boden et al. at the Temple University School of Medicine shows that leptin levels will not fall even in response to all-out fasting so long as insulin and blood sugar are maintained via IV drip. That’s CRAZY.

Because of this carbohydrate/insulin-leptin relationship, it makes sense that foods combining both carbs and fat (like pizza, burgers, cookies, ice cream, etc) work best for reversing the negative adaptations caused by dieting because of the BIG-TIME insulin response they produce.THIS is why strategic cheating with your favorite foods is so powerful. THIS is why you truly can use your favorite foods to lose fat faster than you ever could with restrictive dieting. THIS is freedom.

Essentially, it’s everything “typical” dieting isn’t.

With regular dieting, come week two, you’re screwed.

With strategic cheating, you can literally use ANY food you want to *ensure* that you never go a single day without a body primed for fat loss.

Do I even need to add to that? If you want to finally stop the dietary struggle and instead start getting the results you truly deserve, then you can grab Joel’s complete Cheat Your Way Thin system at half price, but only until tomorrow.

Monday, April 27, 2009

In this video clip I'm demonstrating a bicep barbell curl and reverse grip shoulder press combo. This is an awesome way to work both the biceps and front deltoids at the same time.

You will get a better pump throughout the biceps doing this exercise variation because the motion of lifting the arms up to the position where you'll then press the bar overhead hits the biceps from a unique angle that you'll never experience with regular barbell curls.

Give this exercise a try in your next arm workout and leave me a comment to let me know how it works for you.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Do squats hurt your knees? If so then try doing front squats instead. Front squats are easier on your knee joints than back squats according to researchers at the University of Florida. They found that holding the barbell in front of your body instead of across your back upper back changes your center of gravity and reduces the stress on the knee joints.

----------------------------------

Front Squats

This is a variation of the squat. This exercise is harder on the muscles, but easier on the joints, than regular squats. It places all the weight in front of your body. This exercise works the quadriceps more then regular squats.

Use a rack such as a squat or power rack to hold the barbell. Unrack a barbell holding it across your shoulders. Squat down until your upper thighs are below parallel with the floor. Keep your head up and using the strength of your legs and back return to the starting position. Repeat.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Here is a pic I took tonight after my workout. I'm currently tipping the scale at 228 lbs. (I'm 5'7 tall) I'm seriously thinking about competing again in fall. Even though it is a big commitment and all, I just love the challenge of competing. I enjoy going into the gym on a mission so to speak rather then just going in to workout with no real purpose in mind. So we'll see how things go over the next couple months.

It's called "Power Unlimited" and it is a documentary on powerlifting that is definitely worth watching. It will open your eyes to the real behind the scenes world of hard core powerlifting from pioneers such as Ed Coan, Lee Moran, Kirk Karwoski, and other legendary lifters. It also looks into the future of the sport through the eyes of novices, international lifters and coaches, and from the unique perspectives of rising stars like Priscilla Ribic, Scot Mendelson, Scott Cartwright, and many more.

Yesterday afternoon was nice a sunny so Trish and myself took off for a couple hours and went for a ride on the motorcycle. It was nice, but it's still a bit cold outside (about 40 degrees fahrenheit or 5 degrees celsius). I can't wait until summer when we can go outside without having to bundle up like eskimos :-)

Monday, April 20, 2009

In this video clip I'm demonstrating a bicep and tricep super set combo with low pulley cable curls and tricep cable push downs. This is an awesome way to pump up the arms. I like to do these exercises at the beginning of my arm workouts. I'll do 2-3 super sets with about 1-2 minutes rest in between. Afterwards I'll move on to some isolation movements such as preacher curls, concentration curls, tricep extensions, etc. to finish off my arm workout.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

This past Saturday my girlfriend Patricia went to a local jiu-jitsu grappling tournament here in town. It was only a small turn out and unfortunately she was the only girl who showed up to fight. But being a very competitive athlete, she wasn't going to let this stop her from competing because she went ahead and entered in the men's division to fight!

Now granted she did lose on points to the much bigger competitors, but it wasn't due to lack of effort on her part. Here is a pic from the open class competition where Patricia was going for an arm bar on a guy who outweighed her by over 80 pounds.

Friday, April 17, 2009

If you have been following along with my blog youknow that I recently posted about how nutrition expertand Body-for-Life Champion Joel Marion is GIVING away3 killer videos about some of the major pitfalls ofdieting and how you can actually use your favoritehigh calorie "junk foods" to keep your metabolism highand lose bodyfat faster!

Well, I just wanted to shoot you an e-mail to let youknow that if you haven't downloaded your FREE videosyet, then you should do so now because the website thatthey are hosted on will be taken down this weekend.

If you ever struggle with following a solid nutrition program then I suggest you check out these videos because Joel shares some awesome fat loss strategies.

Even though I've been working out for the past 18+ years myself, I'm not naive enough to think I know it all. And I have even picked up a few killer tricks from this guy. And there's A LOT more to come.

It was a great show with lots of good questions from the viewers. Here is just a few of the topics that we covered:-> What are the best bodybuilding supplements to take-> Workouts and training techniques to help bring up weak body parts-> Fat loss training and nutrition info for teenagers-> The biggest challenges when it comes to preparing for a bodybuilding competition-> And a lot more!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

In this video I'm going to share some of my favorite abdominal exercises for getting six pack abs. However, the real key to building a shredded 6 pack is simply losing all the excess bodyfat that is covering your abs. Everyone has ab muscles, the only problem is that for 99% of the population those abs are covered by a layer of blubber. If you lose the fat, you'll see your abs.

If you've ever hit a diet plateau, if you've ever struggled to see the number on the scale change, or if you've ever felt guilty after eating something you "shouldn't have" while dieting, then you NEED to go check out the videos that "diet guru" and 2001 Body For Life Champion Joel Marion just posted up at:

You see, for the last six years Joel has been teaching people how to strategically "cheat" on their diet (with their favorite foods) to actually speed up your fat loss progress beyond what is possible with "restrictive" dieting.

I'm talking about eating "junk foods" like pancakes, pizza, ice cream, burgers – you name it. And believe it or not, there is a reason behind this madness and you can actually use these foods to lose fat FASTER.

Crazy, I know, but it's true.

And what's more, as you'll see in the videos, this isn't just some half baked diet theory, but there is real science to back it up.

Monday, April 13, 2009

In this video clip I'm demonstrating how to do a few different reverse grip row variations with an EZ curl bar. This makes the reverse grip more comfortable on your wrists and allows you to get a better grip on the barbell. This will let you focus all your attention on working your back and feeling your lat muscles flex and contract with each rep.

You may have heard of Joel Marion before, he won the 2001 Body-for-Life Body Transformation Challenge. My girlfriend and I also entered the BFL challenge that same year but unfortunately we didn't win :-(

Anyway, Joel recently sent me a couple videos clips where he goes into detail about some of the major pitfalls of dieting and how you can actually use your favorite high calorie "junk foods" to keep your metabolism high and lose bodyfat faster!

Now before you say that it sounds "too good to be true", there is some merit to this train of thought. If you who have worked with me one-on-one in the past or have read my new book Your First Bodybuilding Competition you know that I utilize a similar strategy by using "carbohydrate cycling" when training for fat loss.

But I have to admit that Joel's approach works better for the regular gym goer who doesn't quite have the dietary discipline of a competitive bodybuilder and would like to "eat their cake & lose the fat too".

When Joel gets all his videos uploaded I'll post the links here on my blog so you can go check them out for yourself.

Friday, April 10, 2009

We had a great show last night with a good turn out of viewers. I host this live video talk show every Thursday night and it's a great opportunity to chat, share some training ideas, and get your fitness and nutrition questions answered live on the show.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

I just got off the phone with my friend Vince DelMonte,and as you know he has just released one of the mostcomplete muscle building & fat burning training systemsI've ever seen. And even though this system is worthevery penny (and more), it is still a tad too expensive forsome people.

Vince has even had a number of complaints from peoplesaying how they wanted to get the DVD's, but simplycouldn't afford them...

So for the next 24 hours Vince has set up an affordable3 installment payment plan that you can take advantageof immediately to get ripped on a budget!

Let's face it, even though times are toughand the recession sucks, it should NOT be an excuse tolet your fitness go downhill. While you may not have anycontrol over the economy, you DO have total control overYOUR body and how you treat it.

Why not use this as your "excuse" to do something goodfor yourself and get in your best shape ever so you canhit the beach or pool this summer with a ripped six pack?!

I can tell you from experience that when you arephysically fit and feel good about how your bodylooks and feels, the challenges and crap that lifethrows your way won't seem as hard and you'll bebetter able to deal with them.

P.S.If you want a shot at this life-changing physiquetransformation system, then you better make a movefast because as of this writing there are only 144 DVD sets left!

P.P.S.Today is the last day before the price of this entiresystem goes up $50. So if you are going to get it, thenI'd suggest getting it now at the lower price ratherthan waiting and having to pay and extra for it.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

I just finished chatting with my buddy Vince DelMonte who's creating a lot of buzz and excitement this week with the launch of his Brand New No-Nonsense Muscle Building DVD Series that kicked-off yesterday.

And this is turning out to be bigger then originallyexpected because he only had 480 copy's to begin withand 259 of them sold in the first 24-hours. At thatrate they are going to be gone by this time tomorrow!

Let's face it, everyone wants to get absolutely rippedby summer and according to all the success story casestudies of people on his website you can really do itwith this proven system - no matter what kind of shapeyou are in right now or what your fitness goal.

Vince is honored by the overwhelming positive response.But at the same time he's a bit worried that some seriousand committed people, who miss this email, are going tolose out on their chance to follow this killer physiquetransformation system to a "tire-kicker" who isexpecting an overnight miracle.

So if you're ready to start sculpting your veryown head-turning muscular physique and get rippedfor summer then it's going to require 2 things from you:

1. You must follow a cutting edge training & nutritionprogram based on advanced techniques.

I rarely promote anything other then my own trainingprograms simply because most stuff that I see out thereis pure junk. But I have to admit that Vince has outdone himself with this killer DVD course.

What I really like about it is the all value he gives,nothing is left to chance. He has packed more usable"How To" techniques and strategies into this DVD coursethen I've seen in any course before... (even my own)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

I have been involved with bodybuilding since 1990 andduring that time I have seen fads, trends, and scamscome and go. And after 19+ years in the iron game I'vefinally been able to wrap my head around this whole musclebuilding mystery and discover the REAL secret to getting aripped athletic physique.

This is the same "secret" that the Top Dogs in thebodybuilding, supplement, and fitness industry don'twant you to know about.

These big companies that advertise in the magazines andappear on late night TV infomercials have only one goal,and that is to make a profitable product.

They don't care about your muscle building or fat losssuccess. In fact it is your "lack of success" that keepsthem in business and is scamming you out of 90% of yourmuscle building results and 100% of your time and money...

If everyone knew about this "secret" then you would seea lot more head turning buff bodies at the gym, at work,at school, and out on the streets in public. Rather thanthe "skinny fat" syndrome that is rampant these days.

So you are probably asking yourself now;"What The Heck Is This Secret?"

Well, here it is...

The ONLY WAY that you can build a lean, muscular, athleticlooking physique is through a structured and progressiveplan with consistent and focused all-out effort - thatFORCES your body to change.

You must give your body a REASON to change.

In all my years as a bodybuilder and trainer, I havenever seen a dramatic physique transformation fromsomeone who just plugged away in the gym day afterday with "hopes that they will someday change."

People who approach their goals with such "half-hearted"efforts will never have the body of their dreams. It's sad,but true.

They are the same people who blame their age, theirgenetics, this situation, or whatever and then placetheir hope in the latest "Magic Muscle Pill" that hitsthe supplement market while complaining about theirlack of results.

It's that guy or gal you see in the gym everyday, doingthe same workout, and who looks the exact same as theydid last year... and the year before that. Hopefully thisis not the same person you see when you look in the mirror.

Make no mistake, when you work out, your body is cruisingon auto-pilot and often LAUGHS back at you saying:

"That's your attempt to change me? Nice try. We did thisworkout last week. I'm going back on auto-pilot..."

Get this:

Your body would prefer to stay weak, pudgy and average.Our bodies were not meant to be big, lean and muscular.They were designed for survival.

Your body naturally wants to keep the reserve tank ofbodyfat high, while keeping your lean muscle mass to aminimum. This is programmed in our DNA to help conserveenergy and help us survive periods of famine.

I was talking about this to my friend and fellowfitness trainer, Vince DelMonte, and he said:

"It boggles my mind how people expect to get resultswith the slow, simple and silly methods they use...."

I asked him what me meant and his response seemed prettyhardcore but I have to admit he makes some valid points:

"Lee, when was the last time you saw someone treat theirfirst set like it's their last? When was the last timesomeone told you they were nervous before a workout?How often do you see people training with a stop watchto keep their workouts honest or treating each rep liketheir life depends on it? It seems like every person Iknow who works out looks the exact same as last month...or even last year..."

I had to agree with him...I'm sure you know that slashing your bodyfat, gainingrock-hard muscle mass, and breaking bad habits requirea DIFFERENT plan of attack and more serious attitudetowards achieving your goals.

That's the reason I'm telling you about Vince's newNo-Nonsense Muscle Building DVD Series which was just released today at 12pm EST.It's his complete muscle-shredding and ab-sharpeningsolution to getting a world class body.

According to the success story case studies on hiswebsite, the only complaint these people have is thatthey wish they had started sooner because the more theyfollow this physique transformation blue-print...The better it works!

These DVD's include the EXACT same system Vince used togain 41-pounds of muscle in six months and defeat hisskinny genetics. It also includes the EXACT program heused to cut 23 pounds of stubborn bodyfat in only 10-weeksand become a National Fitness Model Champion.

But let me say, after I reviewed Vince's DVD series,this system is not for everyone. It's not for wimps,over-analyzers, tire-kickers, know-it-all's, or peopleexpecting an over night miracle.

I know Vince personally and he has positioned himselfto only work with serious and committed people and ifyou don't fit the bill, then I would recommend you letsomeone else have your copy.

The truth is that Vince's stuff will work extremely wellif you fall into the following categories:

1. You're pissed about your current level of progress(or lack there of).

2. You're sick and tired of spinning your wheels andembarrassed about the way you look when you take yourshirt off and see yourself in the mirror.

3. You're fed up with this ridiculous plateau you've hitand you know you deserve more for how hard you work.

If this sounds like you, then click on the link below and take the next step:

P.S.I don't mean to pressure you with this, but Vince onlyhas 480 copies of this killer DVD Training System andhe's even offering f.r.e.e. shipping and handling untilFriday night at 12 midnight.

Practically every top-notch fitness trainer, includingmyself, is announcing this pre-sale this week so I'mpretty sure this is going to sell out fast!

P.P.S.Vince is also giving away 5 brand new bonuses for thefirst 200 people PLUS his entire digital No-NonsenseMuscle Building and Six Pack Quest Programs valuedat $735 as a Extra bonus gift for trying out hisNo-Nonsense DVD Series.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

In this quick video clip I'm demonstrating how to do the Arnold Press, which is a shoulder press variation. The benefits to Arnold Presses vs. Shoulder Presses is that you can work the different heads of the deltoids as you do the exercise and get some unique muscle stimulation from this exercise variation.

If you've been doing regular shoulder presses for a while and want to change things up, then give the Arnold Press a try in your next shoulder workout.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I wanted to let you know that tonight (April 2) at 8:30 EST we're having a live Bodybuilding talk show. If you have any questions regarding your workouts, eating, supplementation, etc. that you would like to discuss then be sure to tune in tonight at:

FREE 10-Part Bodybuilding Tips e-Course

About Me

I got started working out when I was 12 years old. In 1990 my dad gave me a home gym for Christmas, it was a York 2001 machine and a York barbell and dumbbell set. From that point on I was hooked on working out.
During high school I worked out consistently and I would read every bodybuilding and fitness magazine that I could get my hands on. I’d get bodybuilding and exercise books from the library. I would record every bodybuilding contest that was on television and watch them over and over again. I was obsessed with learning as much about bodybuilding, exercise and nutrition as I could. While in my last year of high school I entered my first Bodybuilding contest, The 1995 Newfoundland Provincials, I was 17 years old at the time. Since then I have competed almost every year in bodybuilding competitions.

Homemade Supplement Secrets

Learn STEP-BY-STEP recipes that ANYONE can follow to begin EASILY making your OWN muscle building supplement formulas right in your very own home for pennies on the dollar.
Click Here For More Info...

Your First Bodybuilding Competition

Your First Bodybuilding Competition
A step-by-step Bodybuilding Competition Training Guide that explains everything you need to know about preparing for and looking your best at your first bodybuilding competition.

Heavy Grips Hand Grippers

The Heavy Grips hand gripper series was developed for athletes who want to take the training of their grip strength to the next level. These heavy-duty hand grippers allow you to train your grip and actually gain strength using low repetitions instead of doing endless reps with plastic handled dept. store hand grippers.